Process of manufacturing expanded metal.



vNo. 897,879. PATENTED SEPT. 8, 1908.

- L. E. CURTIS.

PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING EXPANDED METAL.

APPLICATION FILED SBPT.4,1906.

UNITED srArEs PATENT orsion.

LEWIS E. CURTIS OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A SSIGNOR TO BRECKENRIDGE JONES, TRUSTEE,

OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

PROCESS OF MANUFACTURIN G EXPANDEDlWIETAL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed September 4, 1906. Serial No. 333,092.

Patented Sept. 8, 1908.

cago, in the county of Cook and State of Illi- 1101s, have invented a new and useful Im- Jpfirovement in Processes of Manufacturing xpanded Metal, of which the following is a specification.

It has been customary for some time in the manufacture of expanded metal to simu l taneously slit and bend portions of a plate or sheet of metal in such manner as to stretch or elongate the bars connectin the slit ortions and body of the sheet or ate, and t en to simultaneously slit and fiend in places alternate to the first mentioned portions, thus producing a finished expanded metal sheet of the same length as-the original sheet. This stretching of the strandsor bars stiffens the ex anded sheet and gives it increased strengt over what it would possess if expanded without any stretchin of the bars or strands. The results attaine are beneficial, but the method of manufacture is slow.

My object in thepresent invention is to obtain the same benefit from the stretching of .the metal as is obtained in the process above mentioned, in a process of manufacture such as that set forth. in the patent to. me. of August 1st, 1905, No. 796,402. [This process is adapted to manufacture expanded metal at a very greatly increased rate over the methods heretofore used but operates to materially shorten the sheet.

In devising this invention I have sought to cause the stretching and hardening or stiffening of the metal without any lessening in the speed of the manufacture, so thatthe capacity of the apparatus will remain unaffected by the present-invention.

The invention, briefly stated, consists in subjecting the sheets after they are slitted and before they are 0 ened, to a heavy pressure between cold ro s such as will cause the required hardening and stiffening of the metal and such a lengthening of the sheets as will com ensate for the shortening. thereof which tal ies place when they are 0 ened.

In the accompanying drawin show at Figure 1 a section, omitting details of the apparatus used by me in the practice of my invention. At Fig. 2 I show a lan of the sheet before it is cut or slitted, an at Fig. 3 a like plan after the sheet is cut or slitted. At Fig.

41 show an edge view of the same. A Fig. 5 1s a planview 0f the sheet after it has been stretched, and Fig. 6 is an edge view of the same. ed sheet.

In said drawing 10 represents the sheet undergoing the operation of the ap aratus, and 11 11 represents the slitting rol s, such, for instance, as are patented to me in Patent No. 671,915 of April 9th. 1901, by which the sheet is first operated upon. These rolls deliver the sheet to a pair of pressurev rolls 12 12 adapted to exert such pressure upon the sheet as will harden and stifien the metal and lengthen it to the extent desired and produce the added rigidity and strength mentioned. Figs. 5 and 6 show approximately the amount of lengthening or stretching to which the sheet may be subjected. From these ressure rolls the sheet passes to the expandlng devices 13 13 which are preferably of the kind set forth in my said Patent No. 796,402.

ing mechanism may, however, be substituted for that shown. The resulting product will be such as is illustrated, and found to possess the increased rigidity and strength which are desired.

Iclaim: I

1. The improvement in the process of manufacturing expanded metal, consisting in firstslitting the sheet, then subjecting it to a swaging ressure between rolls, and then openin the s eet. V

2. T e process of making expanded metal, consisting in first slitting the sheet then rolling it with a swaging pressure, and then opening1 it,*substantially as set forth.

3. T e process of making expanded metal, consistinglin first slitting the sheet,'then rolling.it in t e. direction of the slits with a swaging. pressure, and then opening it, substantially as specified.

4. The lmprovement in the art or process of manufacturing expanded metal consisting H. M. MUNDAY, K EDW. S. EVARTS.

Any other construction of suitable expandin subjecting the sheet after it is slit and be-' Fig. 7 shows a portion of the expand- 

